Improvement in cotton-gins



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Cotton-Eins.

NO. 143,074. PatentedSeptember23,l873.

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Cotton-Eins. No. 143,074. Patented sptember23,1873.

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B. HEMPSTEAD.

' Cotton-Eins.

NO. 143,074. FatentedSeptember23,1873..

UNITED STATES PATENT OFEIoE,

BEALL HEMPSTEAD, OF LITTLE ROOK, ARKANSAS.

IMPROVEMENT IN COTTON-GINS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 143,074, datedSeptember 23, 1873; application filed January 25, 1873.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, B. HEMPSTEAD, of Little Rock, in the county ofPulaski and State of Arkansas, have invented a new and ImprovedCotton-Gin, of which the following is a specification:

The invention consists in the improvement of cotton-gins, as hereinafterdescribed and pointed out in the claims.

Figure 1 is a front elevation of my improved cotton-press. Fig.2 is alongitudinal sectional elevation, taken on the linezra of Fig. 1. Fig. 3is a plan view. Fig. 4 is an elevation, partly sectional, of afeeding-gage, by which the quantity of cotton is regulated as it feedsto the saws, and some of the coarse refuse matters are expelled. Fig. 5is a section of part of the saw-gang. Figs. 6 and 7 are detail views ofthe brush-roller, illustrating its construction.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

A represents the gin-saws, and B the brushroller, to which the cotton isdelivered, from the feeder, through the passage C in the top ofthegin-case. rlhe brush-roller B, which receives the cotton from' the saws,delivers it, over the top of said roller, to the passage F, by which itis discharged from the machine. The saws are made in halves, andattached to collars G, made in halves, as shown in Fig. 5, and boltedtogether around the shaft to facilitate putting them 011 the shaft andtaking them off. The brushes consist of two ilanges, H, made in halves,attached together as shown in Fig. 7, and bolted together around theshaft, with brushes I attached to the sides and projecting obliquelyforward, or in the direction in which they turn, and meeting together atthe middle of the space between the flanges. There are, also, bristles Kattached to the driver or shaft between the flanges, and projectingradially from it.

The object of having the bristles project forward is to have themimpinge with greater force against the sides of the saws'than theyotherwise would, and prevent them from being sprung backward away fromit, whereby their efficiency in removing the cotton from the saws isgreatly increased.

The brush-roller is driven by the belt J from a pulley on one end of thesaw-shaft. L is a wide endless carrier of canvas or other suitablematerial, arranged under the saws to receive the seeds and otherdroppings, and carry them out throughthe gin-case at M. This carrier andthe saws are driven by the main belt N, one side of which passes fromthe main driving-pulley P below the floor Q, up over the roller O of thecarrier-pulleyR of the said I arbor, pulley S on the feeder-roller T,idlefpulleyU at the top, and down to the driving-pulley again. Vis thehopper of the feeder, into which the cotton may be supplied by hand, ordelivered from a lateral carrier or elevator extending through the floorbelow, where it may receive the cotton directly from the wagons to saveelevating it to the gin-room by hand. W represents an endless-chaincarrier in the hopper, working over the rollersT and X, with teeth Y toconvey the cotton along from the place of receiving it to the passage Cthrough the top of the gin-case 5 and in connection with the open wirebottom Z above the chains, the open wood bottom W below them, or eitheralone, and the gage B' to spread and equalize the cotton, regulate thequantity supplied to the gin, open the bolls, and remove them and othercoarse matters, which are arrested by the teeth of the gage orregulator, and caused to fall, through the open bottoms,

to the drawer C' and the top D'of the gin-case,

from the latter 'of which they are carried, by the teeth Y, into thesaid drawer, which is removed from time to time and emptied. Theopenbottom of wood bars Ais mounted at each end on studs E', which havebearings in the sides of the case, so arranged that `the bottom can bereadily removed through the side of the case, in which a door, F', isprovided for the purpose, as in some cases it is desirable not to employthe said bottom. The endless carrier and its rollers can also be put inand removed through this door. The rods of the wire bottom Z areattached, at the end of the hopper where the cotton is received, to thecross-bar G', which is mounted on pivots so as to turn, and they extendalong over the roller T at the delivery end of the carrier, and down tothe cross-bar H' on the top of the gincase at the outside of the passageC, into the gin-hopper. At I' this bottom is connected to asuspending-rod, K', which is vertically adjustable in its supportingbarL', for varying the height of this end of the bottom relatively to theroller and the carrier, for varying the delivery of the cotton. Inpractice I will have this rod screw-threaded, and provided with aworm-wheel nut, to be turned by a horizontal crank-shaft having aworm-wheel gearing with the nut to simplify the labor of adjusting it.B' is a comb gage or regulator, consisting of several sets of comb teethor arms projecting from a central shaft at different distances apart,the teeth of any one set, as the comb' may be adjusted, projectingdownward into the mass of cotton moving along the carrier to arrest thelarge masses, or any excess of the requisite amount, and cause it todraw and spread out evenly, and to expel the coarse matters.

For shifting thecomb to bring the'ditferent sets of teeth into action itis provided with jpurnals capable of turning, and a stop-piece,

,for each set of teeth, to bear against a rest, N', to hold it whenadjusted; and one of the journals O' screws in and out of the shaft tomove it endwise to allow the pins'to pass the rest, and to cause them tobear against it. Above this comb is a vertical cross-board, P', providedwith fingers to prevent the cotton from pressing over the comb in caseit issupplied greatly in excess of the feed; and to thisy a guide-board,Q', is hinged1 at one side, a little higher than the axis of the comb,and descending therefrom nearly to the wire bottom, at a point where itsbend around the roller begins, to confine the cotton to the-teeth Y 5and it has lingers It' extending into the verticallyadjustable plate S',for being supported at the lower edge, and adjusted relatively to thewirebottom., The plate S' has, at its lower end, coarse teeth, to keepthe cotton on teeth Y, and cause them to pass'y between the wirestopassage C. U' represents a seriesV of teeth standing vertically in frontof the roller T in such relation to the carrier as to clear the cottonfrom the teethof the carrier, and cause it to pass into thegin at thepassage C. The plate S' is arranged in vertical ways V', and providedwith a bending-screw, W', to be adj usted and fastened in position. y

To simplify the gearing by which the power is applied to the gin andcarrier, and to cheapen the cost of it, I propose to dispense with thelarge overhead driving-wheel on a high shaft, because of cumbrous sizeand cost, and employ onlya short shaft, a, with a smaller driving-wheel,b, with the sweeps attached to it, the upper end of the shaft beingsupported in a strong stationary column or shaft, d, suspended from thefioor above, and strongly braced, and supporting the countershaft e,from which a belt, f, runs to another countershaft, g, above, on whichthe driving-pulley P is mounted. ThusImake the power apparatus muchlighter and cheaper, a'ndeconomize'considerable power in the running ofit.` y

Having thus described-my inventiong-I claim as new and desire to secureby LettersPatl. The arrangement of the bristles" IP ob-' liquely to aAplane passing throughA the1 axis `of motionto bring themwithgreaterforceagainst the saws, and to prevent them from being" sprungbackward, as set-forth:

2. The sectional collars Gr and sectional saws-A, combined-withE theshaft R, as andL for" the purpose set forth.

3. The combination ol' the coiiibl` open wire bottom Z, and the'carrier'W Y, substantiallyas'specied.

4. The combinationv of the vertically-adjustablelinger-board S' withtheopenwirelbottom Z and the carrier W Y, substantially as speciffled.

5. Thecornbination of the dischargingiteeth U' with the carrier W Y andthel open wire bottom Z, substantiallya's specified.

6. The bristles arranged parallel t'o each other radially and-inseparate rows'on a roll, B, as andfor the purpose described. j j

BEALL HEMPSTEAD.

Witnesses:

E. J. BUTLER, J 0E. THOMAS.

